Pilgrimage
by xYaoiGirlx
Summary: D.Gray-man/Skyrim X-over. Jarl Cross Marian's son, Lavi, must journey from Solitude to Riften and back again with a parcel of great value to the Jarl. However, upon reaching Riften, Lavi runs into problem after problem while trying to pay for said parcel, and things only get more difficult with a Thieves Guild apprentice named Allen constantly getting his loot. Future Laven.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: I don't own D. Gray-man or Skyrim (just the game I purchased! :D). I'm simply using the characters, title of Jarl, and locations for my entertainment! Enjoy!

Notes: Lavi has both eyes and Allen has a normal left arm. If you don't know anything about the awesomeness of Skyrim, I would suggest you check into it!

Location/Misc. Notes:  
Solitude – The city Lavi is from as the Jarl Cross Marian's son; he is on a pilgrimage for his father for two reasons, only one of which he is aware.  
Riften – The city known for the Thieves Guild and Black-Briar Meadery; full of shady characters  
Draugr – Undead Nords (their version of zombies) that protect their burial chambers  
Jarl – The title of the leader of a hold (hold being a kingdom or domain, more or less a king)  
Nocturnal – The Daedric Prince of Luck, often looked to by the Thieves Guild  
Daedric Prince/Daedra – The sinister Gods/Goddesses of usually morbid or unlawful things

If you have any other questions as far as Skyrim or just in general, let me know and I'll try to answer them!

* * *

Pilgrimage

He was going to kill his father upon his return, that much was certain. Lavi Marian was not in the slightest amused as he argued fruitlessly with the shady merchant just outside of the meadery in Riften.

"Why the hell else would he send me all the way here from Solitude for this if it wasn't even paid for?" the redhead yelled, seething in anger, his fingers beginning to toy with the hilt of the dagger on his hip in irritation.

"Because it's the Jarl we're talking about!" she hissed, glaring at Lavi. "Did he tell you it was paid for?"

Either way he answered, he knew he'd have to pay for the parcel with his own money. So he decided to answer honestly. "No…now that you mention it…" He then sighed, his hand dropping limply to his side as he completely relaxed. "How much is it?"

She snorted at the answer. Typical city boy…

"95,000 septims," she said, crossing her arms. "But I know you don't have that much on you judging by the way you look."

Sure, Lavi hadn't exactly dressed to look like a Jarl's son on his adventure. Cross Marian wasn't one to pay a ransom for anyone or anything if it were taken being the main reason to dress like a commoner; the other threat of flashily dressing was death.

"And I won't take a septim less either, so no use in turning out your pockets," she sneered, turning her back to him. "You have two months to come up with the gold before I find another buyer. I'll meet you here in exactly 60 days at the same time." And with that, she disappeared into the other shady characters in the town square.

'I need something to kick, punch, kill, whatever!' he mentally growled as he clenched his fists. 'My father would be ideal for any of those options!'

So as it stood, Lavi Marian, the son of Jarl Cross Marian of Solitude, had two months to pay for a parcel for his father, in which he had no idea what said parcel held, or face the wrath of his father should he fail.

xoxoxox

Lavi downed some more mead from his mug at the Bee and Barb inn an hour later, idly swishing it around and watching the foam slosh around inside between drinks.

He had no idea how he was going to raise this amount of gold in such a short time other than by stealing from people and selling their goods to the traveling merchants, but he was a good guy at heart and didn't want to deal with the trouble or risk of getting caught.

"Hey, barkeep," he finally said, setting his mug down on the counter and staring at the girl behind it. "Know where I can get some work?"

She eyed him for a moment as though measuring his worth.

"There's a guy in town looking for someone brave or stupid enough to go into these ruins nearby to gather some items that may or may not be there. Here's the info," she finally said, sliding a piece of parchment towards him.

Cave diving wasn't really his cup of tea, but it seems that this wasn't the town to be picky for jobs; at least this one wasn't breaking and entering.

"Thanks," he said, downing the rest of his mead while he read over the paper. "Where exactly are these ruins? I'm not from around here…"

She drew up a quick map on the back of the paper and told him about how far each was from the Riften main gate.

"I really appreciate it," he smiled, laying more than enough coin down for his drinks and a tip; he must've been sauced enough to give away that much of his hard earned gold, because the Divines know that Cross hadn't given him any coin when he left of his journey. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be off to bed."

He made his way up the creaking staircase and found his room, where he promptly stripped off his traveling cloak and shirt and toed off his boots before he crawled into bed.

"I'm going to kill that bastard when I get back," he grinned cheekily before he finally closed his eyes to sleep.

xoxoxox

The following morning, slightly hung over, Lavi woke up to a fight outside of his room, in which at least one of the brawlers ended up smashed against his door on more than one occasion.

'Gotta love his shady ass town…' he though as he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms while sitting up. As he washed his face and brushed his hair, after having gotten dressed, he finally heard the guards yelling and cuffing the fighters.

'Well, here's to a day of adventuring…' he mentally sighed with a once over in the mirror. 'Yippee…'

He locked his door and shuffled down the stairs, stepping over a puddle or two of freshly spilled blood along the way, and out of the inn. With a stretch to fully wake up, he headed off toward the main gates.

"Be careful out there," a female warrior offered as he began to step outside.

Glancing at his map, he headed off in the direction of the closest ruin.

xoxoxox

"Not a damn thing useful…" Lavi sighed as he let go of the treasure chest's lid in a room of the ruins, the sound of slamming wood echoing through the empty room, save for the few now once again lifeless draugr. "And just what exactly am I looking for?"

Lavi had only skimmed over the page of instructions the night before, so he hadn't the slightest clue as to what he items he was searching for.

"May as well help myself," he frowned as he eyed a small urn knocked over just off to the left of the chest, a few pieces of gold glinting through the ashen remains in the firelight of the room. He felt a shiver run down his spine, knowing that he was more or less digging through what once was a living creature, as he picked up the coins. Once they were in his hand, he blew off the clinging remains like dust and pocketed them, making quick work of dusting off his gross hands on his cloak as though he had picked up a severe case of the cooties.

Turning away from the room, he headed back the way he came a bit until he found another place in which he could explore, finding another chest and a handful more draugr.

As he let the chest lid fall closed, he noticed an object in the room ahead of him glimmering like some sort of multi-colored gem in the shape of a deity. "Maybe that's what I'm looking for," he mused as he shuffled around the chest and into the room.

He stood before the small statue for a few minutes, simply admiring the many colors and the detail of the craftsmanship; however, he failed to notice that said statue was on a pressure trigger.

"Well, if this isn't for that guy, then I'm keeping it for myself!" he grinned as he took the parchment from his pocket and read over it. "Damn…of course this is it."

Replacing the paper in his pocket with a sigh, Lavi lifted the statue and winced at the slight sound of the pressure trigger rising.

"I need to remember to check for these things," he scolded himself as he began to run, hearing several coffins pop open all at once. "And I need to get the hell outta here!"

Somehow, he had managed to find his way back out of the ruins with the statue intact and not having to fight any more dragur.

"Thank you, Nocturnal," he breathed in thanks to the Daedric Prince of luck.

After gathering himself, he headed back towards town to meet this mystery client and hopefully earn a bit of gold today.

xoxoxox

"Someone else actually succeeded!" a seemingly crazy man cried out happily, dancing his own little jig with the gem statue in his hands.

"Yeah, and about that…" Lavi said, an eyebrow cocked at the weird antics of the crazy man.

The man stopped and placed the statue on a shelf next to another just like it in the way of it being made of a multi-colored gem. "Of course, of course!" the man then beamed, shuffling over to a dresser where he pulled out a coin purse. "900 septims for each of these you return to me! You can count it if you want; I wouldn't trust me either!"

Cautiously taking the bag of coins, Lavi continued to eye the man, something nagging him. "You said 'someone else succeeded', right? So someone else is competing with me?"

"Indeed. Another young man has been searching for a few days now and has only brought this one back," he said, petting the other statue lovingly.

"Great…Just what I need," he mumbled. "Thanks for the gold."

And with that, he left the house with the crazy man and headed back to the inn.

xoxoxox

Several days had passed and Lavi had to change out his cloak for a satchel, seeing as he had acquired many rips and tears, not to mention the bloodstains, on his poor cloak as he searched a couple more ruins.

He had since found two more of the same statues, and had even had one appraised at a mere 700 septims, and so decided that it was worth the extra 200 gold to just give it to the crazy man.

However, on his return that particular day, his eyes narrowed as he took in the sight of four additional statues now lining the shelves that hadn't been there two days ago. There were only two ruins left on the list to check now…

"You'd better hurry, you know," the man had patronized him, placing the two statues that Lavi had brought on his shelf. "That other boy is much quicker than you; I hear he's in the Thieves Guild. If you don't hurry, he may have the last two by nightfall tomorrow."

Lavi growled in annoyance, knowing that he'd have to try to find a lead for another job in the next day or two since he didn't get to gather all the statues himself at his leisure.

After accepting his payment, Lavi debated on whether or not to head back to one of the last ruins or turn in for the day and get up early as hell the following morning.

'Screw it,' he sighed. 'May as well tough it out and get what I can before that other guy does…'

The redhead made a stop by a couple stalls and picked up some food and a bottle of wine for his dinner before heading back out of the gates.

xoxoxox

For some ten minutes, as he snacked on his food and heading in the general direction of the last two ruins, he debated on which on he should take; there was 50% chance that he'd run into the other guy if he wasn't lucky.

'Guess I'll try this one,' he settled as he took another bite of his bread, placing the now crumpled and slightly torn piece of paper in his satchel along with the remainder of his bread.

As he entered the ruins, he felt like something was slightly off, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

'I can't let my guard down! Since there aren't any draugr in this room, there's bound to be double the amount in the next!' he told himself as he silently inched along the dimly lit pathway to the next room.

Upon entering it, his jaw dropped.

All around the room were downed draugr and the smell of stale blood.

"Someone's been in here," he mumbled, lowering his newly acquired war hammer from attack position. "I wonder…"

He continued along the path, finding more and more draugr lying in random positions along the way, some in awkward positions against the walls, some still lying in their burial wall but half way hanging out.

A few more minutes had passed until he had come to a room with bars blocking him from entering, and he could hear the sound of grunting and steel on steel.

'Someone else _is_ here!' he thought, idly looking around for a way to lift the bars. However, his attention to that venture was short lived as the person that had been fighting the draugr backed into the doorway across the hall so that Lavi could see his profile, limited as that was.

Lavi felt it necessary to hid himself, and so scooted away from the bars of the doorway and peeked around the archway from beside it.

The person in question was indeed wearing the Thieves Guild armor and dual wielding what looked like twin Daedric daggers. His face was covered by a hood, but Lavi could just make out part of a scar on his left cheek, his left side being the once facing Lavi at the moment.

The young man stood there for a moment, panting heavily with his blades now by his sides, taking a quick breather before he headed deeper inside, finally turning his back to Lavi and walking on.

Once he could no longer hear footsteps, he glanced up and noticed a pull chain. Once it was done clanking from the pull, the bars fell back into their holes in the floor and Lavi pushed on.

'Wait…Why am I doing this?' he asked himself as he crept along so as not to draw attention from the other man. 'I know he's going to beat me to the statue, so why am I following him instead of going to the other ruin?'

He couldn't answer himself satisfactorily, however, and found himself still following the young thief until they reached a room with no other exits.

As the thief walked across the room towards the statue, Lavi edged his way in and hid behind a huge urn, at least that was the plan.

No sooner than he was squatted behind the clay pot, he was back on his feet and backed against the damp wall with a dagger point at his throat, his hands in the air and his war hammer clattering noisily at their feet.

"You shouldn't have followed me," the thief warned, pressing the blade just a fraction closer to Lavi's skin.

Lavi, at the moment, was too stunned to say anything. He wasn't scared in the slightest as the teen before him had his life in his hands; he was too mesmerized by the beauty he found before him.

He was a young man, but a late teen none the less, with pale skin, and long scar from an upside down pentacle above his snow white eyebrow, over his eyelid, cutting left for about an inch before it cut down in a slight arc to just beside his lips, along with a line from the same scar just beneath his eye. His hair matched the snow white of his eyebrow, or at least what little of it he could see from the shadow the hood cast.

"I…I know I shouldn't have," Lavi finally gulped, unable to take his eyes away from the silver ones before him. "I just wanted to see who my competition was, I guess," Lavi then laughed nervously.

Apparently finding Lavi not a threat, the teen dropped his dagger to his side and backed a few inches away.

"Stupid city boys…" he spat as he turned and quickly snatched up his prize, stalking past Lavi and back towards the exit of the ruins. "Oh, and there's no point in going to the other place; I've already cleared it out too," he grinned cheekily before taking off in a sprint.

"Great…Out another 1800 septims and I think a thief is gorgeous…My day just gets better and better," he grumbled as he picked up his war hammer and began the long trek back to Riften.

* * *

Yes, I'm still working on Crushed and Till Halloween, but slowly...My drinking buddies haven't been over lately to inspire me! D:


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimers: I don't own D. Gray-man or Skyrim (just the game disc). I'm simply using the characters, title of Jarl, and locations for my entertainment! Enjoy!

Notes: Lavi has both eyes and Allen has a normal left arm

Location/Misc. Notes:  
Iverstead: a small town near the base of Skyrim's tallest mountain  
The Ragged Flagon: a bar inside the Thieves Guild hideout

* * *

"Dammit!" Lavi cursed as he kicked at the ground on his walk back to the city. "What now?"

He had no idea what type of job he could pick up that was legal; he had thought about going to a neighboring town and seeing what he could find, but that would be a waste of time what with a three day walk with no work under his belt, not to mention that there might not even be any work for him there…

As he entered Riften, he made his way to the inn and placed himself heavily down on his usual barstool, slapping his hands on the wood of the bar.

The bartender smiled as she turned to him, wiping off a mug. "He beat you to it, huh?"

Lavi had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Yeah. Now I'm stuck for a job," he growled as he slumped over onto his crossed arms, heaving a heavy sigh.

"Well," she said thoughtfully, having taken a liking to Lavi over the past few days seeing as he wasn't like the rest of the townsfolk, pouring him a drink. "I might have something for you tomorrow. There's been a rumor floating around about a cave close to Iverstead that needs clearing out. And from what I heard, the thing they're after isn't a piece of cake…Apparently, it's already killed several of the guys this man has hired."

"Thing…" Lavi repeated lazily, suddenly drained of energy while he just as lazily sat up and took a large gulp of his mead, setting his mug back down a bit too roughly. "What kind of thing exactly?"

She shrugged. "Some monster that isn't human or draugr," she said. "Not heard much else about it since no one's lived long enough to describe it. Just what the rumors have said."

"Yeah, fill me in," Lavi nodded to himself. "And if some white haired, scarred faced guys comes here looking for a job, can you give him something else or don't tell him about this one?"

"Oh, you mean Allen? I'm surprised I haven't seen much of him lately, what with his partner having been killed recently…" she sighed in thought. "Sorry," she then smiled, shaking her head. "I suppose I can sidetrack him this time. You've got quite a bit of gold to earn in a short time, after all."

"You're a lifesaver!" he smiled as he stared at his mug's contents. He now knew the thief's name and that he would have this job to himself. "And let me know first thing if you've got any new jobs!"

She winked at him as she refilled his mug. "Sure thing; you've been spoiling me with the tips after all!"

The redhead chuckled as he downed a fair amount of his mead.

Four rounds later, Lavi managed to climb the stairs to his room with the aid of his hand on the wall the entire way so he wouldn't fall into it or back down the steps.

"I don't know what you see in him," a young girl whispered to the cloaked person sitting across from her as she watched Lavi wobbly climb the stairs, now singing in a drunken voice.

"He's quiet, that much is certain," the young man beside her murmured as he brought his mug to his lips, a hint of sarcasm leaking into his words as they listened to the drunken song. "He followed me about half way through that tomb before I noticed him. But he's dumber than a box of rocks…"

The girl giggled, brushing her long black hair over her shoulder as she turned her attention to her wine.

"You can't be certain on that though," she chided. "He just got scared when you cornered him."

The young man grumbled slightly, slouching grumpily further down his chair.

"I'll tail him the next few days and tell you what I think. Who knows, maybe even my brother will think he's the man we've been looking for."

"You had to bring that up too and rub salt in the wound?" the young man mumbled, placing his mug down in irritation.

"Hey, now, none of us have been able to get near that vault! Not just you…"

"But _he_ got the closest out of everyone. It pisses me off…"

The young woman giggled again, sipping her wine. "Can't you set aside your personal grudge with him for a bit? If it turns out that we can use this guy, maybe you as a team could get to it!"

The young man said nothing, didn't move, just sat still, suddenly tense.

"It's been two months since it happened, Allen. Road's not coming back…"

"I know!" he growled lowly, downing the rest of his drink and slamming his mug down harder than before. "But…" he began, choking back a sob as he stood, all eyes falling on him. "It still hurts."

He opened his mouth to say more, but swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue before he violently shook his cloak covered head and stormed out of the inn.

"Sorry, Miranda," Lenalee smiled sympathetically as she placed their alcohol money on the bar before she quickly chased after her friend.

"Don't worry about it!" she grinned as she scooped the money into a coin purse, watching her leave.

xoxoxox

A few days had passed and Lavi had found odd jobs to do around town, earning a bit of gold here and there, and despite better judgment about spending money on mead, he did anyway. He also felt as though there were eyes constantly on him; not as in random people watching or looking at him, but someone staring and watching his every move. He'd become so nervous that he had started sleeping with his gold under his pillow at night and carrying it with him when he left; knowing this town and its residents, it was only a matter of time before he was mugged or robbed.

"He's a hard worker," Lenalee murmured to the young man sitting across from her as she swirled her wine in her glass a few nights later. "And he listens well, but I've not seen him fight yet."

"Miranda said he's taking that job near Iverstead, right?"

"Yeah. I don't know if I'll be able to follow him that far though. My brother is known to destroy the Flagon from time to time when I'm not close to home, as everyone in the guild knows…" she sighed, taking a long swig of her grape alcohol. "And Reever can only keep him in check for so long…"

"I'll follow him," Allen said softly as he took a drink of his mead, locking eyes with his companion to assure her that he was serious about this.

"You're sure about this?" she asked just in case as she noticed the brief moment of hesitation flash in his eyes.

"I need to get away from town for a while, and like I've said, I think he'll do us good if he can fight. He's a natural sneak."

"Alright then. I'll gather you some provisions before you head out," she said as she watched a once again drunken Lavi climb the stairs. "Are you sure we're talking about the same guy?"

As Lavi once again burst into a drunken song, Allen let a small smile grace his lips as he shook his head.

xoxoxox

Two days later the young redhead set out towards Iverstead with his provisions, Dwarven Warhammer, and some wonderfully crafted Steel Armor that he may have splurged on a bit more than he wanted.

'Better safe than sorry,' he chided himself as he pulled everything on and tightened it down to his body snuggly. 'If this thing's as dangerous as the rumors say, I'll need all the protection I can get!'

He hadn't yet noticed the figure trailing behind him in the shade of the trees on the side of the road.

'I don't know if it's a good or bad thing that he's not very perceptive of his surroundings,' Allen thought as he moved deftly to another tree. Truth be told, he was disappointed that Lavi hadn't caught on to his presence, but was glad to not have to reveal or explain himself all the same.

Around the fifth hour of nonstop walking, Allen heard the tale tell roar of a bear in the vicinity and quickly hid amongst the brush and denser foliage as Lavi quickly looked around in the direction of the noise.

In a matter of moments, the bear came hurdling from its resting place and straight for the distraught looking redhead. Though his eyes were shut tight in fear, his instincts had kicked in and he swung his warhammer strong down upon the beast's head, rendering it either unconscious or dead. He wasn't about to check for a pulse or stick around to find out.

The Apprentice sighed in annoyance. 'Of course he's not a fighter…Or at least he doesn't like to kill 'living' things.'

But still they pushed on until late into the night. At this rate, they would be there by nightfall the next evening for sure.

Lavi had set up a make-shift canopy and bed with some pelts he had bought and started a small bonfire where he could heat up some dried meat and drink a bit before he turned in.

Allen, on the other hand, had made a make-shift bed inside a hollowed out log that nothing was thankfully living in, where he was within earshot of Lavi. If the other moved in the middle of the night, he'd know.


End file.
